It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thank you, Kellee and Jen, hosts of the wonderful Teach Mentor Texts blog! You host It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and I learn so much by participating!

This weekend I rewarded myself with lots of reading time. After finishing WONDER by R.J. Palacio last week, it was really hard to find a new good book to read. (Note: It is really hard to write a good review of Wonder because it's an amazing book, and I want to do it justice. I promise to try!)

I bought this book when it first came out, but, as is the case with a lot of books in my TBR pile, I hadn't gotten around to it. 

AMELIA LOST by Candace Fleming

Amelia Lost was highly recommended. There were a lot of facts in it that I didn't know. It contained many features of non-fiction (sidebars, insets, etc.). I think it's suitable for an older audience (not for 4th grade).  I remember reading lots of biographies about Amelia Earhart when I was in elementary school, so I've always been interested in her story.

NERDS 3: THE CHEERLEADERS OF DOOM By Michel Buckley

This one was recommended by one of my students. When a student tells you "You have to read this book!", you do.  He even lent me his library copy. (I borrowed it one day, then went out and got my own copy!)  If you loved NERDS 1 and NERDS 2, you will really love this one. I think it's better than the last one. It's about cheerleaders, spies, and it's mysterious and funny.

PICTURE BOOKS:

I managed to get in these titles, too:

Newbery Challenge:
Funny Little Woman
My Friend Rabbit
White Snow, Bright Snow

JUST FOR FUN:
Scaredy Squirrel
Scaredy Squirrel At Night
Scraredy Squirrel At the Beach
(If you have not read Scaredy Squirrel, do so soon. He is so funny!)

This week I will be reading THE FOURTH STLL PART II and SOLDIER BEAR.

TEACHING NOTES FOR THE WEEK:

• Last week, my class created a Voicethread for EXTRA YARN. I plan to polish it up this week and post it here. 
• We are also creating videos to tell the story of the Battle of the Alamo. 
• One of my many goals this week is to create more opportunities for collaboration.
• On Friday, my 4th grade book club will meet and we will do our best to celebrate Read Across America Day!

Looks like I have a busy week! I'd better start reading!

The Week in Review

PICTURE BOOK GOLD!

Reading aloud is one of the best things a teacher can do to improve comprehension. I love to read aloud, and my students love to hear me read good books.  I usually start Reader's Workshop with a read-aloud (mostly picture books). When I find an amazing one that makes my class think, I call it PICTURE BOOK GOLD!

Extra Yarn is PICTURE BOOK GOLD! (Since we'd already read I WANT MY HAT BACK, my kids knew who Jon Klassen was!)
I read this book aloud to my students this week. When I turned to the page with Bear and Rabbit, the reaction was terrific! I let the conversations go on. Many insightful things were heard. I decided to capture the conversation in a Voicethread. (I'll post that here.)

MY NEW BOOK CLUB!

At our school, we have a 30-minute period on Fridays where each student participates in a club/activity of their choice. The teachers run the clubs. I decided to start a Jr. Nerdy Book Club!  It's open to every student in our grade level. I had an amazing response and my club is full! I'm not assigning a book, and I think that's the popularity of it! We had to have our 2nd meeting rescheduled because of a guest speaker, but we will meet this week, and I will share here.

City Dog, Country Frog

Yesterday, I read this wonderful book to my class:

At the TCTELA conference last month, Katie Wood Ray shared this wonderful book with us. I knew I had to get my own copy.

And I did.

This book is about a great friendship between a dog and a frog. My students love books about friendship.  It's a special book because the illustrations carry the story as much as the text does.  Mo Willems and Jon J. Muth have made this an absolutely wonderful book.

What impact does a friend have on our lives? What carries us forward to make new friends when we lose a good friend?

These are the questions my students and I thought about as we read this book. I highly recommend it.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

As I do every Monday, I am linking up with Jen and Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts to share what I am reading today, and what I have been reading this week. 

This week I read two great picture books that I highly recommend:

Extra Yarn is a really fun picture book! I was really at the bookstore to pick up WONDER, but I saw it on the way out and HAD to buy it because I'd seen it pop up on Twitter. I'm so glad I did, and that I have my own copy to use in my classroom. This book will make you think and smile just like I Want My Hat Back. Jon Klassen illustrates this book and that is one of the reasons I love it. It has a quirky story line, and it's not what I expected--just like I Want My Hat Back!

Here's another great picture book: Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian. I'm not sure where I came across the title, but it must have been from one of the fantastic educators I've come across in the Twitterverse.  It's another delightful book that I want to use in Writer's Workshop. It's about a goldfish who gets crowded out of his bowl and has to adjust to some new friends! 

This week I also made some progress on my Caldecott challenge.
I read:
The Egg Tree
Sam Bangs and Moonshine
Hey, Al!
May I Bring A Friend?
The Hello, Goodbye Window
Ox Cart Man
Once A Mouse
Frog Went A-Courtin
A Sick Day for Amos McGee (I LOVED THIS BOOK.)

I have so many more titles to talk about! I'll have to blog about them tomorrow!

My Week's Winning Moments

At the end of a week, I look back to reflect.  Though it was busy, and there were many things to be done, I'm proud of what my class and I did together.

We started off the week with an author visit from Kimberly Willis Holt. She writes the Piper Reed series.  She gave our students lots of writing tips, but the one I most remember is this: "Special places bring us stories."

We also had our 2nd Mystery Skype with another 4th grade class from Massachusetts! My class guessed the state after five clues, and we had a great time making new friends. We realized that to have a proper Mystery Skype, each student should write their own clue so that are plenty of clues to share!

Another great moment came as I read Me. . Jane to my class. (I love this book by Patrick McDonnell, and my students did, too.) We were nearing the end of the book when a student suddenly called out, "I made a connection!" Music to my ears! This very observant student went on to share that Jane Goodall (the main character/subject of Me. . .Jane) was also mentioned in Marty McGuire by Kate Messner (something I'd completely forgotten). 

I love that my students tie one book to another. And I especially love that they are appreciating books as much as I do.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

As I try to do every Monday, I am joining Jen and Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts for "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" Thanks to them for that oppportunity!

This past week was especially busy, especially since I was out two days presenting at a state conference. But when a book is really good, I will find a way -- and the time-- to read it. For me this week, those books were:

Matched by Ally Condie

And:

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos--(2012 Newbery Winner)

Although these books won't be going in my elementary classroom library because they are Young Adult books, I enjoyed them very much. Dead End in Norvelt is outrageously funny, and Matched just really makes you think! I can hardly wait to read Crossed (#2 in the series). 

I took one book on my trip and I finished it on the way back. That book was:

Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger
This was a really funny middle grade Victorian-type mystery that has some great vocabulary words! Can't wait to share it with my class!

I also finished about 10 Caldecott winners yesterday and made a dent in one of my 3 book challenges.

I am currently reading three books:
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon (can't seem to finish this one)
Zita the Space Girl by Ben Hatke (from the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List for 2012-2013)

I am at home this week so I am hoping to get lots of reading done! It's my Valentine to myself.

Sunday Bookstack

I made my weekly trip to the library yesterday and picked up some books that will help me in my Caldecott challenge. My library has them all in one spot which makes them easier to find. I'm not really going in any particular order. In fact, I read the 2010 Caldecott winner (A Sick Day for Amos McGee) last night.

It is a wonderful book! I can't wait to read it to my class tomorrow.

Also in that stack is TALES FROM SILVER LANDS which is the Newbery Winner for 1925. I hope to start that this week.  (But I'm not making any promises, especially since there are so many good new books in my TBR pile.)

Also in my stack are some titles from the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List for 2012-2013. One of them is CLEVER TAKES THE CAKE by Candace Fleming. My students have already started reading these, so I need to catch up!

By the middle of the day, I'll probably be done with most of these. And I will have made a tiny dent in my Caldecott Challenge.

TCEA 2012: Where the Teacher Was the Learner

To be an effective teacher, I should always try to learn as much as I can. If I am continuing to learn, then I can understand my students' needs better. I can understand the challenges they encounter. I can understand what conditions work best when one is trying to learn something.

Being a presenter at the TCEA State conference was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn. I only did one short hour-long session, but to me, it was such an experience!
I presented to teachers and tech specialists and thankfully, my own great I.T. teacher from school was helping me.

I had to research, read, write, practice, speak, plan, predict, upload, share, anticipate, and more! So many verbs.

I could have stayed home, or I could have attended the conference only. But since I am in charge of my own learning, I knew exactly what I needed to do.  I am so glad I went the extra mile -- and I did it for me!

(By the way, on the day of my presentation, I wore a pair of awesome--but not always comfortable--black wedge boots made by Bandolino. They held up even with a day of walking around the convention floor.)

And my book of choice for this day was:

Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger

I always carry a book with me, and yes, I did get a chance to read as I was waiting for a session to start! 

My Latest Favorite Book

I felt the same way about this book as I did about Mighty Miss Malone.

I'd hear so much about this book, I couldn't wait until it was released to buy it.

I bought it. I read it. I loved it.

That book is:

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
By Katherine Applegate

It's about a gorilla and a baby elephant. Their friendship is sweet and the story breaks your heart. But it fills it, too----with glorious phrases and amazing storytelling. A group of animals live in a video arcade/mall, owned by Mack who hopes to make a profit by selling admission to view the animals. We hear the story of their lives in this 'cage' or 'domain' from Ivan, and we learn to love each animal character (and some of the humans who care for them).

The story is told with such grace and yet, such efficiency of word.  I finished it in two sittings, and with each page I kept thinking this: my students will love this book.

Now, I am torn between sharing the book tomorrow to individual readers or making it my next read-aloud. 

I love this book as much as I love The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis-- but in a very different way. (I know voracious readers will understand what I mean.)

Have you read The One and Only Ivan? What did you think?

The Pura Belpre Award

Have you ever heard of Duncan Tonatiuh?

Before the ALA Youth Media Awards, I hadn't heard of this artist/author.

He won a Pura Belpre Illustrator Award last month.

From the ALA website, here is information about the Pura Belpre`:

"The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate."

Duncan Tonatiuh is the 2012 Illustrator Award Winner for his book Diego Rivera: His World and Ours.

I couldn't find THIS book in our library, but I did find this one:

In this book, a cousin from the United States writes a letter to his cousin in Mexico. The pages are side-by-side comparisons of the day-to-day life of two boys including their traditions and activities.

I can see this being a great model/prompt for a paired writing activity.

I will be using this in my classroom soon! And I have already ordered the Diego Rivera book.

Finding Great Nonfiction Mentor Texts

I am on a mission to find the best nonfiction mentor texts for my students. 

Over the winter break, I read:

Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins
illustrated by Vicky White
Published 2011 by Candlewick Press

I knew it would be a hit with my students because they absolutely love animals, and many are interested in saving endangered species.

But I didn't know realize---until I reread this past weekend----that it would also be a great mentor text for expository writing.

The tone of the writing is very engaging and authentic.  My students were immediately hooked. Martin Jenkins connects with readers through conversation.

For example: "Still, I'm sure you'll all agree that tigers are pretty special."

None of my students could disagree with that. 

(And Vicky White's illustrations are absolutely wondrous.)

My students passed the book around. It landed on desks surrounded by three or four students at a time.  As pages were turned, questions were asked. Declarations were made! Connections to previously learned facts were established --all within the conversations of lively 4th graders who were completely hooked by a book.

I sat back and watched.

I've got to find more books like this. 

(We found cause and effect in the text--as well as sequence. We documented our discussion using a Thinking Map (Flow Map to be exact).